3 Manatee nursing homes on state 'watch list'

MANATEE -- Three Manatee County nursing homes are on the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration's Nursing Home Watch List due to prior problems or deficiencies.

The three are Casa Mora Rehabilitation and Extended Care; Nursing Center at Freedom Village; and The Woods at Manatee Springs, said Shelisha Coleman, press secretary for the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration.

Interested consumers or

those with family in Manatee County nursing homes can go online to floridahealthfinder.gov, click "Nursing Homes" and access "Nursing Home Watch List" to find a list of all 127 nursing homes in Florida that ACHA has singled out for serious problems or deficiencies, Coleman said

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"We do take the watch list under consideration when renewing a license," Coleman said Monday. "We expect deficiencies to be corrected. If they are not corrected, that is when we take additional action."

Fines can be levied for repeat offenders or for serious problems, Coleman said.

Casa Mora Rehabilitation and Extended Care, 1902 59th St. W., Bradenton, landed on the list due to a Class 1 deficiency, the most serious, on Dec. 28, 2012, Coleman said.

"The facility failed to follow the documented wishes of one of the residents regarding implementation of end-of-life status," Coleman said.

A 58-year-old Casa Mora resident and the resident's representative had requested in a resuscitate order that the resident receive CPR if she was ever found unresponsive, Coleman said. This procedure was not followed when she fell unresponsive, Coleman said.

"She was pronounced deceased after not receiving CPR," Coleman added.

In a follow up visit, the deficiencies at Casa Mora were corrected, but Casa Mora will remain on the Nursing Home Watch List for two and a half years from Jan. 7, 2013, Coleman said.

ACHA generally leaves nursing homes on the list for two and a half years, Coleman said.

Nursing homes can also appeal their cases and attempt to be removed from the list, Coleman added.

A Class 1 infraction is one that poses a serious or immediate risk to patients or residents, like if a resident is left out in the sun all day, Coleman said.

"We did conduct a revisit and the deficiencies have been corrected," Coleman said.

Nursing Center at Freedom Village will remain on the Nursing Watch List two and a half years from Nov. 28, 2014, Coleman said.

The Woods at Manatee Springs, 5627 Ninth St. E., Bradenton, failed to insure that each resident had a device to prevent a fall, a Class 2 deficiency, Coleman said.

Class 2 is a violation that poses a direct threat to the health, safety or welfare of patients, Coleman said.

"We go in and conduct inspections," Coleman said. "We sample several residents. Two out of three did not have adequate supervision and assistance devices to prevent falls. One resident had a history of falls and was at a risk for falls."

After a revisit, ACHA now has a settlement agreement to cure the problems with The Woods at Manatee Springs, which will remain on the watch list for two and a half years after July 13, 2014, Coleman said.

A representative of the Nursing Center at Freedom Village replied to a request for comment.

"Because the health and safety of our residents is our top priority, we are working with the agency to alleviate any concern," said Shawna Zody, a spokeswoman for Tennessee-based Brookdale, which operates 1,100 nursing homes in 47 states.

"We have appealed the conditional license status," Zody said. "Brookdale Freedom Village is committed to quality care for our residents. The community's leadership and associates work daily to maintain the quality standards our residents expect."

Spokesmen for Casa Mora and The Woods at Manatee Springs did not respond to requests for comment.

Richard Dymond, Herald reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7072 or contact him via Twitter@RichardDymond.